Couplets › Courage
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
paida kar ai se aati hai
Wo ki ke jhukti hai faghfoori
Wo ki ke jhukti hai faghfoori
“Cultivate conviction, O foolish one — for it is conviction that wins you the dervish's freedom, the kind before which even imperial majesty bows.”
Romanहिन्दी
पैदा ऐ नादाँ से आती है
वो कि के झुकती है फ़ग़फ़ूरी
वो कि के झुकती है फ़ग़फ़ूरी
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal locates real power not in possessions but in conviction. The dervish — owning nothing — commands a freedom so complete that emperors stoop before it. Certainty, not wealth, is what makes a person sovereign.
For You, Today
The world rates you by what you hold. Iqbal rates you by what you are sure of. Genuine conviction makes a person ungovernable by circumstance — it is the one form of standing no setback can revoke.
In the same spirit
Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pehle
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Raise your selfhood so high that, before issuing every decree of destiny, God Himself asks you: tell me, what is your wish?
Selfhood · Courage
Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Your nest is not on the dome of a royal palace. You are a falcon — make your dwelling on the rocks of the mountains.
The Falcon · Freedom · Courage
Apne mann mein doob kar pa ja suragh-e-zindagi
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Dive into your own self and find the trace of life. If you will not be mine, then do not — but at least become your own.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge